Catharina Sperling-Heckel (10 April 1699 - 28 May 1741) was a German miniature painter, etcher and engraver.

Life and work

Catharina Heckel was born in April 1699 in

Augsburg Augsburg ( , ; ; ) is a city in the Bavaria, Bavarian part of Swabia, Germany, around west of the Bavarian capital Munich. It is a College town, university town and the regional seat of the Swabia (administrative region), Swabia with a well ...

. Her father was Michael Heckel. He was a

goldsmith A goldsmith is a Metalworking, metalworker who specializes in working with gold and other precious metals. Modern goldsmiths mainly specialize in jewelry-making but historically, they have also made cutlery, silverware, platter (dishware), plat ...

and taught Heckel how to paint and draw. She was taught engraving by

Johann Ulrich Kraus Johann Ulrich Kraus (also ''Krauss, Krauß'', 1655–1719) was an early German illustrator, engraver and publisher in Augsburg. He was a student of Melchior Küsel (1626- ca.1683), who was in turn a student of Matthäus Merian the Elder. Kra ...

. She married Hieronymus Sperling in 1725. In 1728, she painted a miniature portrait of

Charles Edward Stuart Charles Edward Louis John Sylvester Maria Casimir Stuart (31 December 1720 – 30 January 1788) was the elder son of James Francis Edward Stuart, making him the grandson of James VII and II, and the Stuart claimant to the thrones of England, ...

. She died from complications from childbirth, within weeks of the birth of her first child, in May 1741.

Notable collections

*''Moses' arms grow heavy as he prays for the victory of the Israelites over the Amalecites; an outstretched arm is anatomically depicted'', c. 1735,

Wellcome Collection Wellcome Collection is a museum and library based at 183 Euston Road, London, England, displaying a mixture of medical artefacts and original artworks exploring "ideas about the connections between medicine, life and art". Founded in 2007, the W ...

Gallery

File:Moses' arms grow heavy as he prays for the victory of the Is Wellcome V0034275.jpg, ''Moses' arms grow heavy as he prays for the victory of the Israelites over the Amalecites; an outstretched arm is anatomically depicted'', c. 1735

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sperling-Heckel, Catharina 1699 births 1741 deaths Engravers from Augsburg German women painters German portrait miniaturists 18th-century German etchers Deaths in childbirth Women etchers German women engravers 18th-century German engravers 18th-century German women artists